IRISH SAILOR SASKIA Tidey has confirmed that she has started training with Team GB in the hope of representing Britain at the 2020 Olympics.
Tidey competed for Ireland alongside now-retired partner Andrea Brewster at the Rio Games, and has now linked up with British sailor Charlotte Dobson to compete in the 49er FX skiff event.
The 23-year-old qualifies to race for Britain through her father.
Tidey and Brewster sailed at their first Olympics last summer, and finished 12th overall.
Britsh-born Brewster’s retirement is evidently a huge factor in Tidey’s move across the water.
“There wasn’t an option here in Ireland in the 49er FX with another girl who had the experience to sail at the same level that I had finished up at [in Rio], to be competitive and win a medal in 2020,” she told The Irish Times.
“I think that myself, along with Charlotte Dobson, gives us a strong combination going forward to achieve what we both individually want.
It’s not been easy personally for me. I’m so proud to be Irish, I will always be Irish, and I absolutely couldn’t have been prouder to represent Ireland at Rio 2016.
“I’m grateful for what has happened, but now [am looking forward to] four years of 100% focus on performance.”
In Rio, Dobson finished eighth in the same class, sailing alongside Sophie Ainsworth for Team GB.
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